I expected Kim to lose (and hoped she would because Orser claims she thrives off loss -- as evident in last year's GPF loss and subsequent 4CC and WC wins). I prefer it this way, though . I'd hate to see her lose and the media have a heyday. This Japanese article was already claiming she "lost her throne" after the "sub-par" SP (but PLEASE it may have been sub-par by Kim's standards, but it was still decent. She's human too).

I'm just glad Kim successfully jumped that 3F! It used to be one of her most scintillating jumps (in the 3F-3T combo). I don't know what in the world is happening to her. Her gorgeous jumps -- often executed with textbook precision, that is, delayed and with ice coverage and height -- are becoming tentative (like someone already said). I'm hating these DGs, "e"s and "!"s. They're cutting into the poor girl's confidence. Goal #1 for the Kim Dream Team: CONFIDENCE BUILDING! Yu-Na, no matter what other people say, you are the reigning world champion with superhuman abilities, the Queen everyone can't stop talking about!

Amazing performance by Akiko. She's now one step closer to making it into Team Japan. Miki has a place bagged. Asada definitely does (regardless of what JFS criteria are, the Fed WILL find a way to get her in ). Too bad about Akiko's PCS. I feel awful for her, but hey this performance will help raise it in time for the Olympics!

Miki showed her home crowd that she's READY! Hope to see the 3-3 (or the quad!) in the Olympics.

I'm glad that Yu-Na still won, because I'm her fan, but I think a close win achieves what a loss would have, and then some. It tells her that other competitors will capitalise on her mistakes if she has any and that she must work very hard before Vancouver to rectify them (and this is something that a loss would have told her), and secondly, that she can still produce gutsy performances and produce a solid peformance when the chips are down.

I definitely think that Suzuki deserves an Olympic spot, but I guess it depends on the Japanese nationals.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhqMx2HE_UI Yukari's Lp performance at 2008 World. Take a look at her second jump, especially how her non-landing leg wraps around the other leg when she jumps. It is rather distracting and unattractive. It's not common, as this technique makes a skater harder to jump, though some of the most accomplished jumpers like Midori Ito of Japan, also has this jumping technique.

Hope it helps.

Oh my, thank you very much. I guess I haven't watched Yukari much, but I would definitely say that leg wraps are indeed quite unattractive.

Another thing, if Yuna wins OGM does anyone know if she will continue skating or retire? I guess if you win OGM then there isn't really anything else left to win (she already won worlds), no where to go but down. She might want to go to college too. She's so good though that it might be sad to see someone like her retire before she turns 20. Does anyone know if she's said anything about this?

A lot of speculation's been going on, but nothing's been officially announced. In her 2006-2007 season (the one with two masterpiece programs -- Tango DR and Lark Ascending), she said she hated skating in an interview. This has been twisted by many Kim-haters (in particular, fans of a rival skater) to mean that she fails to appreciate the sport. What she actually said, however, was that she at times hates skating when she makes mistakes or has a terrible day during which everything goes wrong (and all skaters have such days), but in the same breath she also said that she feels ecstatic when she can get everything together and emerge successful (i.e. satisfy herself). All skaters have a love-hate relationship with the sport, don't they?

Her former coach asked Orser (or was it Wilson?) how he could make her a happy skater (and thus the start of the Kim Dream Team formation). Orser and Wilson's goal has always been to make Kim happy, and her happiness does not necessarily depend on WRs or huge margin wins. She wants to skate her heart out, just as MK had done back in the day (Kim's a huge fan of the Kween). Now that she's injury-free, she's much happier, and her delight on ice is evident in my eyes (I expect they are in yours as well). Even if she retires, I don't think she will be able to resist the allure of ice.

She does, however, seem to be uncomfortable with the Korea-Japan rivalry going on and the nation's unrelenting scrutiny of her every move. Whenever she comes out on TV, she says she misses walking unnoticed on the streets. She wants to have a boyfriend. She wants to go shopping with friends. She wants to be an ordinary girl, but that's impossible with her unprecedented popularity. The stress she gets from the media and expectant fans is mind-boggling. She has been faltering recently, but I doubt it's a result so much of inherent problems in her skating or state of mind as in pressure exerted by external sources. I bet she would want escape from that once she accomplishes her final goal, the OGM. As viewers watching her on TV, we fail to understand the staggering pressure on her fragile shoulders. It may be too much to bear.

For Kim, the ultimate goal is to become "a much-loved skater." What this means is open to interpretation. She may want to become like the Kween, who is much-respected and admired even to this day, not just for superior skating ability and emotion-instilling performances, but also for the pizazz, charm and modesty of a champion. Kwan may not have won an OGM, but she is the defining skater of the last decade of skating. If that is Kim's goal, I doubt she will leave the figure skating scene (which I desperately want because I just can't get enough of her) and stay on for, perhaps, another Olympic cycle. If the OGM is what she has in mind, then I think it will be better for her to retire. The CoP system is too physically-challenging for a long-term career of sustained excellence. She's already suffered many injuries; she might want to avert more. And like another poster said, if she wins the OGM, she will have won everything there is to be won in the FS world. The only way from there is down. That's not a pleasant experience for anyone.

I don't think she hates skating, but I think she's not too crazy about the media attention. In one interview, she said she wouldn't have her child to figure skating. She said having a normal life as an ordinary citizen was probably the best, which to me seems to indicate that she's tired of the media. She never started figure skating to become a super star.

I don't think she hates skating, but I think she's not too crazy about the media attention. In one interview, she said she wouldn't have her child to figure skating. She said having a normal life as an ordinary citizen was probably the best, which to me seems to indicate that she's tired of the media. She never started figure skating to become a super star.

That's just too bad, because even if she retires she's never gonna have that "ordinary life" in Korea....

That's just too bad, because even if she retires she's never gonna have that "ordinary life" in Korea....

I know. Poor Yuna.

I hope she can withstand whatever crapola that gets thrown at her by the media and skates well in Vancouver. I remember some years ago a Korean reporter made it sound like Yuna should dislike (?) Mao b/c she's a rival from Japan or something, but Yuna answered that she never started skating to beat Mao, and that having a good rival is great since it motivates her.

I wish Miki did at least either 3L-3R or 2A-3T! Why so cautious? I initially thought that she would win. Then I thought that she lost due to PCS. She looked slower than Yuna. But I am surprised that she got similar PCS with her. Now I understand that her 3S was DGed.

Oh my, thank you very much. I guess I haven't watched Yukari much, but I would definitely say that leg wraps are indeed quite unattractive.

I do not have any problem with leg wrag (especially in Yukari's case). But I guess I am in the minority. To me, it is just strange to almost completely exclude a skater from competition for medals because of one technical imperfection. I have heard so many comments: Yukari is not a contender, because of her leg wrap. It annoys me a bit. Do I think that Yuna should not be winning her Wch and other titles because of not great layback and poor positions in spiral? No. Do I think that Mao should not win her medals because of flutz? No. So lets leave Yukari and have leg wrap (I know I am OT here, but I could not help it ).

Just looking at the event, I feel that Akiko could have placed the first in FP. She was fab there. I wish she skated the last or had a better reputation scores. In PCS wise, she was the best, not to mention her jumps and steps.

I don't think she hates skating, but I think she's not too crazy about the media attention. In one interview, she said she wouldn't have her child to figure skating. She said having a normal life as an ordinary citizen was probably the best, which to me seems to indicate that she's tired of the media. She never started figure skating to become a super star.

It really is a shame that the media circus is so disruptive of Kim's life that she feels she can't have a normal existence. I am sure it's one reason she trains in Canada. I remember the same problem with Midori Ito - the Japanese press was suffocating during the 1992 Olympic Games in Albertville. In practices Ito was landing triple/triple combinations of every kind. It was amazing but days later in the competition the pressure made her choke. I hope she now has a normal life.

Just looking at the event, I feel that Akiko could have placed the first in FP. She was fab there. I wish she skated the last or had a better reputation scores. In PCS wise, she was the best, not to mention her jumps and steps.